Tomioka silk mill, Japan's first modern model silk reeling factory, is established by the government.

The Ryukyu Domain is created when the emperor changes the title of Shō Tai, the Ryukyu Kingdom's monarch (Ryūkyū-koku-ō), to that of a domain head (Ryūkyū-han-ō). The former Ryukyu Kingdom thus becomes a han.[3]

1.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon

2.
Emperor of Japan
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The Emperor of Japan is the head of the Imperial Family and is the ceremonial head of state of Japans system of constitutional monarchy. According to the 1947 constitution, he is the symbol of the State, in Japanese, the Emperor is called Tennō, which means heavenly sovereign. In English, the use of the term Mikado for the Emperor was once common, currently, the Emperor of Japan is the only remaining monarch in the world reigning under the title of Emperor. The Imperial House of Japan is the oldest continuing hereditary monarchy in the world, in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, it is said that Japan was founded in 660 BC by Emperor Jimmu. He acceded the Chrysanthemum Throne upon the death of his father, Emperor Shōwa, the role of the Emperor of Japan has historically alternated between a largely ceremonial symbolic role and that of an actual imperial ruler. Since the establishment of the first shogunate in 1192, the Emperors of Japan have rarely taken on a role as supreme battlefield commander, Japanese Emperors have nearly always been controlled by external political forces, to varying degrees. In fact, between 1192 and 1867, the shoguns, or their shikken regents in Kamakura, were the de facto rulers of Japan, although they were nominally appointed by the Emperor. After the Meiji Restoration in 1867, the Emperor was the embodiment of all power in the realm. His current status as a figurehead dates from the 1947 Constitution, since the mid-nineteenth century, the Imperial Palace has been called Kyūjō, later Kōkyo, and is located on the former site of Edo Castle in the heart of Tokyo. Earlier, Emperors resided in Kyoto for nearly eleven centuries, the Emperors Birthday is a national holiday. Unlike most constitutional monarchies, the Emperor is not the nominal Chief Executive, article 65 of the Constitution explicitly vests executive power in the Cabinet, of which the Prime Minister is the leader. The Emperor is also not the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, the Japan Self-Defense Forces Act of 1954 also explicitly vests this role with the Prime Minister. The Emperors powers are limited only to important ceremonial functions, article 4 of the Constitution stipulates that the Emperor shall perform only such acts in matters of state as are provided for in the Constitution and he shall not have powers related to government. It also stipulates that the advice and approval of the Cabinet shall be required for all acts of the Emperor in matters of state, article 4 also states that these duties can be delegated by the Emperor as provided for by law. Article 6 of the Constitution delegates the Emperor the following ceremonial roles, Appointment of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as designated by the Cabinet. Dissolution of the House of Representatives, proclamation of general election of members of the Diet. Attestation of the appointment and dismissal of Ministers of State and other officials as provided for by law, attestation of general and special amnesty, commutation of punishment, reprieve, and restoration of rights. Attestation of instruments of ratification and other documents as provided for by law

3.
Tokyo National Museum
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The Tokyo National Museum, or TNM, established in 1872, is the oldest Japanese national museum, the largest art museum in Japan and one of the largest art museums in the world. The museum collects, houses, and preserves a collection of art works and archaeological objects of Asia. The museum holds over 110,000 objects, which includes 87 Japanese National Treasure holdings and 610 Important Cultural Property holdings, the museum also conducts research and organizes educational events related to its collection. The museum is located inside Ueno Park in Taitō, Tokyo, the facilities consist of the Honkan, Tōyōkan, Hyōkeikan, Heiseikan, Hōryū-ji Hōmotsukan, as well as Shiryōkan, and other facilities. There are restaurants and shops within the premises, as well as outdoor exhibitions. The museums collections focus on ancient Japanese art and Asian art along the Silk Road, There is also a large collection of Greco-Buddhist art. All information is provided in Japanese, Chinese, English, French, German, Korean, the museum came into being in 1872, when the first exhibition was held by the Museum Department of the Ministry of Education at the Taiseiden Hall. This marked the inauguration of the first museum in Japan, soon after the opening, the museum moved to Uchiyamashita-cho, then in 1882 moved again to the Ueno Park, where it stands today. Since its establishment, the museum has experienced major challenges such as the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923, in more than the 120 years of its history, the museum has gone under much evolution and transformation through organizational reforms and administrative change. The museum went through name changes, being called the Imperial Museum in 1886. 1882—The museum was moves to its present location, a formerly occupied by the headquarters of the Kanei-ji Temple in Ueno. 1889—The Imperial Household Ministry accepts control of Museum collections, and the institution is renamed the Imperial Museum, 1900—The museum is renamed Tokyo Imperial Household Museum. 1923—The museums main building is damaged in the Great Kantō earthquake of 1923, 1925—Objects in the Nature division are transferred to the Tokyo Museum of the Ministry of Education, now renamed the National Science Museum. 1938—The museums new building is opened. 1947—The Ministry of Education accepts responsibility for Museum collections, and institution is renamed the National Museum, 1978—The Hyokeikan building is designated an Important Cultural Property. 1999—The Gallery of Horyu-ji Treasures and the Heisei-kan buildings are opened, 2001—The museum is renamed Tokyo National Museum of the Independent Administrative Institution National Museum. 2001—The Hon-kan building is designated an Important Cultural Property, 2005—The IAI National Museum is expanded with addition of Kyushu National Museum. It was severely damaged in the Great Kantō earthquake of 1923, in contrast to the original buildings more Western style, the design of the present main building by Jin Watanabe is the more nativist Imperial Crown style

4.
Tomioka Silk Mill
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Tomioka Silk Mill is Japans oldest modern model silk reeling factory, established in 1872 by the government to introduce modern machine silk reeling from France and spread its technology in Japan. The factory is designated by the government as a historic site and it is a big factory in the old city of Tomioka, in Gunma prefecture, Japan — about 100 km northwest of Tokyo. Soon after the Meiji Restoration in the late 19th century, the Japanese government hastened the modernization of Japan to catch up with European countries, Japanese raw silk was the most important export and sustained the growth of Japan’s economy at that time. During this boom, however, the Japanese silk industry began to sacrifice the quality of its silk for quantity, which rapidly harmed the reputation of Japan as a raw silk manufacturer. As a result, the government decided to establish the Tomioka Silk Mill as a model filature facility equipped with the most sophisticated machinery to improve the quality of raw silk. The construction began in 1871 and was completed in July the next year, three months later the factory started operation. In the beginning, there were 150 silk reeling machines, the lifestyle of the workers has been recorded in the diary of one, Wada Ei. Tomioka Silk Mill concentrated on offering high-quality raw silk, but even though their silk enjoyed a good reputation overseas for its high quality, the business was always in the red. Even after reducing costs, they continued to suffer from chronic deficits, as a result, the government decided to privatize Tomioka Silk Mill and transferred its business to the Mitsui Finance Group in 1893. In 1902 it was transferred again, from the Mitsui Finance Group to the Hara Company, in 1939, Tomioka Silk Mill was transferred to Katakura Industries Co. Ltd, the largest silk reeling company in Japan, the mill contributed actively to the growth of Japan’s economy during and after World War II. Tomioka Silk Mill was closed in March 1987, and it is looked after as a historic site. In 2005 Tomioka Silk Mill was designated by the government as a site and was transferred to Tomioka city. Wada Ei List of World Heritage Sites in Japan Tomioka Silk Mill World Heritage Promotion Homepage

5.
National Diet Library
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The National Diet Library is the only national library in Japan. It was established in 1948 for the purpose of assisting members of the National Diet of Japan in researching matters of public policy, the library is similar in purpose and scope to the United States Library of Congress. The National Diet Library consists of two facilities in Tokyo and Kyoto, and several other branch libraries throughout Japan. The Diets power in prewar Japan was limited, and its need for information was correspondingly small, the original Diet libraries never developed either the collections or the services which might have made them vital adjuncts of genuinely responsible legislative activity. Until Japans defeat, moreover, the executive had controlled all political documents, depriving the people and the Diet of access to vital information. The U. S. occupation forces under General Douglas MacArthur deemed reform of the Diet library system to be an important part of the democratization of Japan after its defeat in World War II. In 1946, each house of the Diet formed its own National Diet Library Standing Committee, hani Gorō, a Marxist historian who had been imprisoned during the war for thought crimes and had been elected to the House of Councillors after the war, spearheaded the reform efforts. Hani envisioned the new body as both a citadel of popular sovereignty, and the means of realizing a peaceful revolution, the National Diet Library opened in June 1948 in the present-day State Guest-House with an initial collection of 100,000 volumes. The first Librarian of the Diet Library was the politician Tokujirō Kanamori, the philosopher Masakazu Nakai served as the first Vice Librarian. In 1949, the NDL merged with the National Library and became the national library in Japan. At this time the collection gained a million volumes previously housed in the former National Library in Ueno. In 1961, the NDL opened at its present location in Nagatachō, in 1986, the NDLs Annex was completed to accommodate a combined total of 12 million books and periodicals. The Kansai-kan, which opened in October 2002 in the Kansai Science City, has a collection of 6 million items, in May 2002, the NDL opened a new branch, the International Library of Childrens Literature, in the former building of the Imperial Library in Ueno. This branch contains some 400,000 items of literature from around the world. Though the NDLs original mandate was to be a library for the National Diet. In the fiscal year ending March 2004, for example, the library reported more than 250,000 reference inquiries, in contrast, as Japans national library, the NDL collects copies of all publications published in Japan. The NDL has an extensive collection of some 30 million pages of documents relating to the Occupation of Japan after World War II. This collection include the documents prepared by General Headquarters and the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, the Far Eastern Commission, the NDL maintains a collection of some 530,000 books and booklets and 2 million microform titles relating to the sciences

6.
Asuka period
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The Asuka period was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710, although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period. The Yamato polity evolved greatly during the Asuka period, which is named after the Asuka region, the introduction of Buddhism marked a change in Japanese society. The Asuka period is distinguished by the change in the name of the country from Wa to Nihon. The term Asuka period was first used to describe a period in the history of Japanese fine-arts and it was proposed by fine-arts scholars Sekino Tadasu and Okakura Kakuzō around 1900. Sekino dated the Asuka period as ending with the Taika Reform of 646, Okakura, however, saw it as ending with the transfer of the capital to the Heijō Palace of Nara. Although historians generally use Okakuras dating, many historians of art and architecture prefer Sekinos dating, the Yamato polity was distinguished by powerful great clans or extended families, including their dependents. Each clan was headed by a patriarch who performed sacred rites for the kami to ensure the long-term welfare of the clan. Clan members were the High Nobility, and the Imperial line that controlled the Yamato polity was at its pinnacle, the Yamato polity was concentrated in the Asuka region and exercised power over clans in Kyūshū and Honshū, bestowing titles, some hereditary, on clan chieftains. The Yamato name became synonymous with all of Japan as the Yamato rulers suppressed other clans, based on Chinese models, they developed a central administration and an imperial court attended by subordinate clan chieftains but with no permanent capital. By the mid-seventh century, the lands had grown to a substantial public domain. The basic administrative unit of the Gokishichidō system was the county, most people were farmers, others were fishers, weavers, potters, artisans, armorers, and ritual specialists. Suiko, the first of eight sovereign empresses, was merely a figurehead for Umako, Shōtoku, recognized as a great intellectual of this period of reform, was a devout Buddhist and was well-read in Chinese literature. He was influenced by Confucian principles, including the Mandate of Heaven, under Shōtokus direction, Confucian models of rank and etiquette were adopted, and his Seventeen-article constitution prescribed ways to bring harmony to a chaotic society in Confucian terms. Six official missions of envoys, priests, and students were sent to China in the seventh century, some remained twenty years or more, many of those who returned became prominent reformers. The sending of such scholars to learn Chinese political systems showed significant change from envoys in the Kofun period, as a result, Japan in this period received no title from Chinese dynasties, while they did send tribute. From the Chinese point of view, the class or position of Japan was demoted from previous centuries in which the kings received titles, on the other hand, Japan loosened its political relationships with China and consequently established extraordinary cultural and intellectual relationships. The revolt was led by Prince Naka no Ōe and Nakatomi no Kamatari, the Japanese era corresponding to the years 645–649 was thus named Taika, referring to the Reform, and meaning great change. The revolt leading to the Taika Reform is commonly called the Isshi Incident, ritsu was a code of penal laws, while ryō was an administrative code

7.
Nara period
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The Nara period of the history of Japan covers the years from AD710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō, most of Japanese society during this period was agricultural in nature and centered on villages. Most of the villagers followed a religion based on the worship of natural and ancestral spirits called kami, the capital at Nara was modeled after Changan, the capital city of Tang China. In many other ways, the Japanese upper classes patterned themselves after the Chinese, including adopting Chinese written system, fashion, concentrated efforts by the imperial court to record and document its history produced the first works of Japanese literature during the Nara period. Works such as the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki were political in nature, used to record and therefore justify, with the spread of written language, the writing of Japanese poetry, known in Japanese as waka, began. Over time, personal collections were referenced to establish the first large collection of Japanese poetry known as Manyōshū sometime after 759, Chinese characters were used to express sounds of Japanese until kana were invented. The Chinese characters used to express the sounds of Japanese are known as manyōgana, before the Taihō Code was established, the capital was customarily moved after the death of an emperor because of the ancient belief that a place of death was polluted. Reforms and bureaucratization of government led to the establishment of a permanent imperial capital at Heijō-kyō, or Nara, in AD710. It is to be noted that the capital was moved shortly to Kuni-kyō in 740–744, to Naniwa-kyō in 744–745, to Shigarakinomiya in 745, Nara was Japans first truly urban center. It soon had a population of 200,000 and some 10,000 people worked in government jobs, economic and administrative activity increased during the Nara period. Roads linked Nara to provincial capitals, and taxes were collected more efficiently and routinely, coins were minted, if not widely used. Outside the Nara area, however, there was little commercial activity, by the mid-eighth century, shōen, one of the most important economic institutions in medieval Japan, began to rise as a result of the search for a more manageable form of landholding. Some of these formerly public people were employed by large landholders. Factional fighting at the court continued throughout the Nara period. Imperial family members, leading families, such as the Fujiwara. Earlier this period, Prince Nagaya seized power at the court after the death of Fujiwara no Fuhito, Fuhito was succeeded by four sons, Muchimaro, Umakai, Fusasaki, and Maro. They put Emperor Shōmu, the prince by Fuhitos daughter, on the throne, in 729, they arrested Nagaya and regained control. However, as the first outbreak of smallpox spread from Kyūshū in 735 and it is without doubt that the Emperor was heavily shocked about this disaster, and he moved the palace three times in only five years since 740, until he eventually returned to Nara

8.
Heian period
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The Heian period is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism, the Heian period is also considered the peak of the Japanese imperial court and noted for its art, especially poetry and literature. Although the Imperial House of Japan had power on the surface, the power was in the hands of the Fujiwara clan. Many emperors actually had mothers from the Fujiwara family, the Heian period was preceded by the Nara period and began in 794 A. D. after the movement of the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō, by the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu. Kanmu first tried to move the capital to Nagaoka-kyō, but a series of disasters befell the city, prompting the emperor to relocate the capital a second time, a rebellion occurred in China in the last years of the 9th century, making the political situation unstable. The Japanese missions to Tang China was suspended and the influx of Chinese exports halted, therefore the Heian Period is considered a high point in Japanese culture that later generations have always admired. The period is noted for the rise of the samurai class. Nominally, sovereignty lay in the emperor but in power was wielded by the Fujiwara nobility. However, to protect their interests in the provinces, the Fujiwara and other noble families required guards, police, the warrior class made steady political gains throughout the Heian period. Still, a military takeover of the Japanese government was centuries away. The entry of the class into court influence was a result of the Hōgen Rebellion. At this time Taira no Kiyomori revived the Fujiwara practices by placing his grandson on the throne to rule Japan by regency and their clan, the Taira, would not be overthrown until after the Genpei War, which marked the start of the shogunate. The Kamakura period began in 1185 when Minamoto no Yoritomo seized power from the emperors, Nara was abandoned after only 70 years in part due to the ascendancy of Dōkyō and the encroaching secular power of the Buddhist institutions there. Kyōto had good access to the sea and could be reached by land routes from the eastern provinces. The early Heian period continued Nara culture, the Heian capital was patterned on the Chinese Tang capital at Changan, as was Nara, Kanmu endeavoured to improve the Tang-style administrative system which was in use. Known as the ritsuryō, this attempted to recreate the Tang imperium in Japan. Despite the decline of the Taika–Taihō reforms, imperial government was vigorous during the early Heian period, Kanmus avoidance of drastic reform decreased the intensity of political struggles, and he became recognized as one of Japans most forceful emperors

9.
Emperor Meiji
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Emperor Meiji, or Meiji the Great, was the 122nd Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from February 3,1867 until his death on July 30,1912. By the time of his death in 1912, Japan had undergone a political, social, and industrial revolution at home and emerged as one of the great powers on the world stage. The New York Times summed up this transformation at his funeral in 1912, with the words, before it went old Japan, after it came new Japan. Having ruled during the Meiji period, the Emperor is thus known as the Meiji Emperor or simply Emperor Meiji. His personal name, which is not used in any formal or official context, the Tokugawa shogunate had established itself in the early 17th century. Under its rule, the shogun governed Japan, about 180 lords, known as daimyō, ruled autonomous realms under the shogun, who occasionally called upon the daimyō for gifts, but did not tax them. The shogun controlled the daimyō in other ways, only the shogun could approve their marriages, and the shogun could divest a daimyō of his lands. In 1615, the first Tokugawa shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, who had retired from his position, and his son Tokugawa Hidetada. Under it, the Emperor was required to devote his time to scholarship, the Emperors under the shogunate appear to have closely adhered to this code, studying Confucian classics and devoting time to poetry and calligraphy. They were only taught the rudiments of Japanese and Chinese history, the shogun did not seek the consent or advice of the Emperor for his actions. Emperors almost never left their compound, or Gosho in Kyoto. Few Emperors lived long enough to retire, of the Meiji Emperors five predecessors, only his grandfather lived into his forties, dying aged forty-six. The Imperial Family suffered very high rates of infant mortality, all five of the Emperors brothers and sisters died as infants, soon after taking control in the early seventeenth century, shogunate officials ended much Western trade with Japan, and barred missionaries from the islands. In addition to the substantial Chinese trade, only the Dutch continued trade with Japan, however, by the early 19th century, European and American vessels appeared in the waters around Japan with increasing frequency. Prince Mutsuhito was born on November 3,1852 in a house on his maternal grandfathers property at the north end of the Gosho. At the time, a birth was believed to be polluting, so imperial princes were not born in the Palace, the boys mother, Nakayama Yoshiko, was a concubine to his father Emperor Kōmei, and was the daughter of the acting major counselor, Nakayama Tadayasu. The young prince was given the name Sachinomiya, or Prince Sachi, the young prince was born at a time of change for Japan. This change was symbolized dramatically when Commodore Matthew Perry and his squadron of what the Japanese dubbed the Black Ships, Perry sought to open Japan to trade, and warned the Japanese of military consequences if they did not agree

10.
Hachinohe Domain
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Hachinohe Domain was a tozama feudal domain of Edo period Japan It is located in Mutsu Province, Honshū. Its territory included 41 villages in Sannohe District,38 villages in Kunohe District, the domain was centered at Hachinohe Castle, located in the center of what is now the city of Hachinohe in Aomori Prefecture. Afterwards, however, though secret diplomacy with Kubota Domain, he was able to escape punishment by the new Meiji government. In July 1871, with the abolition of the han system, Hachinohe Domain became Hachinohe Prefecture, nambu clan 1664-1871 List of Han The content of this article was largely derived from that of the corresponding article on Japanese Wikipedia. Historical and Geographic Dictionary of Japan, Hachinohe on Edo 300 HTML Sasaki Suguru

The Asuka period (飛鳥時代, Asuka jidai) was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710 (or 592 to 645), …

Image: Horyu ji 09s 3200

The Daibutsu at the Asuka-dera in Asuka, the oldest known sculpture of Buddha in Japan with an exact known date of manufacture, 609 AD; the sculpture was made by Kuratsukuri-no-Tori, son of a Korean immigrant.

A stone foundation section of the Mount Shioji Ōnojō Castle Ruins, where construction began in 665

A wall mural depicting ladies, from the west wall of the Takamatsuzuka Tomb, late 7th century, Asuka period